New Zealand earthquake: Century-old time capsule found in ruins

Rescuers searching the ruins of Christchurch cathedral have made found a century-old time capsule under a status of the city's founder.

Two items – a glass bottle containing rolled-up parchment and a metal cylinder – were found in the plinth of a statue felled in last Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude earthquake in New Zealand, which is believed to have killed up to 240 people.

Rescuers combing the site made the discovery Tuesday morning and immediately called in local museum staff to examine the artefacts.

"It's very poignant, very poignant indeed," said Anthony Wright, the director of the Canterbury cathedral.

The items were in the base of a statue of John Robert Godley, the Irish founder of Christchurch, which was erected in 1867.

Two words were visible on the parchment "by" and "erected" but it would not be properly unfurled until the capsule had been examined by experts and opened in a humidity-controlled museum environment to protect it from damage....